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This is the first Archived Forum which was active between 17th April 2007 and 1st March February 2012

 

Latest post 01-26-2012 2:29 PM by beocool. 26 replies.
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  • 12-11-2009 2:41 AM

    BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    Do you think design of BeoLab 5 is still up to date or do they already need a design refreshment?

  • 12-11-2009 3:19 AM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    I believe the BL 5 are very up-to-date in their design! I first saw them in 2003, and have wanted one ever since (mostly for their design, at least then). The BL 9 will I think age much faster, as their design is more "specific" and not as futuristic as the Saturn inspired speakers.

  • 12-11-2009 4:07 AM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    Design update for the Beolab 5?? NO!

    Besides the fact that its not B&O to restyle a product designwise, the Beolab 5 doesn't need any updates.

    Even almost 7 years after the first time I saw them the design still puts a smile on my face

    Show me anything that looks like it, show me anything that sounds like it, show me anything that has the features...

    Stephan

  • 12-11-2009 6:21 AM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    Given that ordinary speakers have looked pretty much the same for 90 years, I do think that the BL5s are still fresh and new. In fact, whenever I look at mine, I'm struck by them. As I was when I saw four in The Dark Knight - no prizes for guessing what the set designer thought of the BL5s.

    The only update I might want is for the speakers to accept higher than 24/96 digital input, now that these resolutions are available for download. (Whether I can hear the difference is another matter entirely, and I'm quite happy with 24/96.)

    I had a friend over yesterday, who had to listen to the new, remastered Abbey Road by The Beatles from start to finish, in one sitting. He couldn't believe his ears - and had totally reevaluated The Beatles by the end of the record. BL5 power.

  • 12-11-2009 7:33 AM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    No doubt they're still some of the best sounding speakers around, even today.
    Their design is ... different... utterly functional rather designed for good looks.

    One thing that bothers me is the that they're basically big black cones...I missing some of the meticulous alu finish for which B&O is so know for (think BL8000) I saw some pictures a couple of years ago of personalized grilles which I thought were amazing, making then functional and art at the same time. But that could just be me. I love B&O for making different colors in their items available.... why just settle for sony-black all the time ?

    Do they need a tech update? ...Maybe....  just like soundproof writes, they are hard to fault even right now.  
    One thing I would love to see on them is a display (think penta display) and more direct digital inputs. Also tweak them to play the full sound spectrum at lower volumes and not only at volume 50+.  

    But that's just my 2ct....

    BTW ....  Not a big Beatles fan myself (my wife is !!) but the remastered versions are very enjoyable!

  • 12-11-2009 8:10 AM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    You can get them in white as well. Look a whole lot lighter that way, I know I wouldn't like to have them in black (well I guess if somebody carried a pair up to my flat, I wouldn't turn them back though Laughing )

    Of course anyone is free to recloth them as they wish - I'm surprised nobody has done it already...

    -mika

  • 12-11-2009 9:01 AM In reply to

    • Daniel
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    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    tournedos:

    Of course anyone is free to recloth them as they wish - I'm surprised nobody has done it already...

    Lenny Kravitz did.

    Beovision LX5500, BeoCord V6000, BeoSound 9000, BeoLab 8000, BeoLab 3500, BeoLab 2000, BeoVox1, BeoCom 6000, Form1, LightControl 1

  • 12-11-2009 9:59 AM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    Design up to date... aesthetically speaking? Compared to what? Confused

    • B&o bottle opener
  • 12-11-2009 4:53 PM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    avus17:

    Do you think design of BeoLab 5 is still up to date or do they already need a design refreshment?

    Ask this question again in 30 years. Laughing

    -Andreas

     

    BLab5, BLab5000, BLab8000, BV10, BS9000, BS3, Beo5, Beo4, BLink1000, BLink5000, BLink7000, A2, A8, Form2

     

     

     

  • 12-11-2009 4:58 PM In reply to

    • Puncher
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    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    If it wasn't "contemporary" when it was released, how can it age!

     

    Generally speaking, you aren't learning much if your lips are moving.

  • 12-11-2009 8:52 PM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    I don't agree that the Lab 9's will "age" faster than the 5's. I might be in the minority here but the 9's were love at first sight, while the 5's looked good only after I learnt the technical prowess behind them, and I still can't get used to the 3's. The thing is that the 9's are a very flowing and unified shape, while the 3's and 5's have various appendages - the ALT tweeter on top of the 3's looking especially unattractive. Simpler, balanced designs usually have longer staying power.

    The white Lab 9's in the newest Beo magazine are absolutely breathtaking.

    Leo

    BV 10-40, BV 8-32, BL 9, BL 4, CX100, BS Ouverture, BS 2000, BG 4500, Passive, LC 1, A 9

  • 12-11-2009 10:53 PM In reply to

    • Dave
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    • Brisbane, Australia
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    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    leogenghis:

    I don't agree that the Lab 9's will "age" faster than the 5's. I might be in the minority here but the 9's were love at first sight, while the 5's looked good only after I learnt the technical prowess behind them, and I still can't get used to the 3's. The thing is that the 9's are a very flowing and unified shape, while the 3's and 5's have various appendages - the ALT tweeter on top of the 3's looking especially unattractive. Simpler, balanced designs usually have longer staying power.

    The white Lab 9's in the newest Beo magazine are absolutely breathtaking.

    Leo

    WELL SAID!

    “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.”

    Your health and well-being comes first and fore-most.

     

     

  • 12-11-2009 10:56 PM In reply to

    • Dave
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    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    I think the BL5 should be availble in a few more colour combinations, but lets remember how good value these speakers really are.I think of the Bugatti Veyron in some respects...

    “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.”

    Your health and well-being comes first and fore-most.

     

     

  • 12-11-2009 11:46 PM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    What they need is an internal component upgrade and not a design upgrade. Design wise I still love them.

  • 12-12-2009 3:19 AM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    If someone with better ears than mine was to have his way with the BL5s:

    1. Adding one more tweeter, to be dedicated to the range above 6.000Hz.

    2. He suspects that the processing dampens output in that same 6.000-20.000Hz range; quite common, in order to avoid complaints about speakers (not just BL5s) being too bright. Tape hiss, etc., from older recordings also becomes more noticeable without this damping.

    3. As Wonderfulelectric says - maybe enhance the innards. Above, I mentioned the ability to accept signals at higher resolutions than 24/96. There are blu-ray movies and music with 24/192 already.

    The recording I link below can't be played at its highest resolution through BL5s, and has to be processed before the signal is sent to the speakers. Which means you're using the analog-in connection, not the s/pdif. As is also true for the recordings which the ears I mention above is offering to the world (two more having gotten Grammy-nominations recently.)

    http://www.amazon.com/Neil-Young-Archives-Vol-1963-1972/dp/B001B8PV4U

  • 12-12-2009 11:51 AM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    To be honest, I didn't like any of the ALT speakers at first sight. Especially the Beolab 5 has a very strong visual presence and in my view you need a pretty big room to make them look right. Adding another tweeter would make the visual appearance even more imposing I fear. Beolab 9's and Beolab 3's blend in much easier.

    Sonically all the ALT speakers never failed to impress me. I actually bought a pair of Beolab 3's even though they aren't exactly the best looking speakers in the world. A motorized ALT tweeter like you get in an Audi A8 or Aston Martin certainly would help.

    Beoworld's twenty-eighth ninth prize winner and fifty-first second prize winner. Best £30 I've ever spent!

  • 12-13-2009 10:02 AM In reply to

    • astrauch
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    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    I personally have to say that I liked the design from the beginning, the cone shape with the flying saucers on top always reminds me of some kind of "laser-cannon" from Star Trek. And when I read that the design is from 2002/2003 I was a bit surprised, that these speakers are around for more than 6 years. That they still shock people after 6 years is an indication for an innovative and good design.

    When I was at my dealer yesterday to order my BL3s, I wasn't able to go past the BL5s without touching the aluminium discs.

    A big, white room with a Beosound 5, two Beolab 5 and a purple "Lava" sofa by Cor would be design-heaven for me.... Stick out tongue

    But I'm not a "normal" guy in terms of design, I even like most of the Bangle-BMWs, so I'm not representing the majority.

     

    And beocool, the idea with the motorized tweeter for BL3 is cool! Smile

  • 12-13-2009 10:17 AM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    astrauch:

    And beocool, the idea with the motorized tweeter for BL3 is cool! Smile

    Actually, the idea isn't mine. Look at this thread for more information. It's pretty impossible to make it work with the current speaker. There's just not enough space to retract the ALT tweeter.


    Beoworld's twenty-eighth ninth prize winner and fifty-first second prize winner. Best £30 I've ever spent!

  • 12-13-2009 10:21 AM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    Dave: Thanks. The Bugatti Veyron is a good analogy - both it and the Lab 5's are unusual/futuristic/perhaps slightly awkward-looking - at first, that is, but the technologies behind both of them are astonishing and knowing it enhances the beauty of their designs.

    Astrauch: Funny you should mention Star Trek - one of my favorite shows! Thing is, these ALT speakers really need an avant-garde interior to show them off at their best. Furniture by Ligne Roset, B&B Italia and Cor as you said would be a good match... I used to have a college-dorm-type futon in my living room. It was pleasant and comfortable but once the B&O took root it looked so out of place! Big Smile

    Leo

    BV 10-40, BV 8-32, BL 9, BL 4, CX100, BS Ouverture, BS 2000, BG 4500, Passive, LC 1, A 9

  • 12-19-2009 11:29 AM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    For those of you who want an updated design for BeoLab 5, there's nothing easier: just customize the fabric covers!!Wink

    Reunion Island is greeting you!

  • 12-19-2009 4:29 PM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    Wow, they look fabulous..well in the right surroundings..

    I'm a big fan of the 9's myself.. I have them in white, in a white room with aluminium wall set lights. A little minimal for some, but a look i like.

    When i figure out how to put pics on here I'll post a few pictures of them in the living room!

    David Coyne

    BV8-40, BC6-26, BC2, Beolab 9's, Beogram 7000, Beogram 9500, Beoport, Beotalk 1200, Beocom 6000, Beolit 1000, 800, 700, 600, 400

  • 12-19-2009 5:15 PM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    david coyne:

    Wow, they look fabulous..well in the right surroundings..

    I'm a big fan of the 9's myself.. I have them in white, in a white room with aluminium wall set lights. A little minimal for some, but a look i like.

    When i figure out how to put pics on here I'll post a few pictures of them in the living room!

    David Coyne

    Just saw them in the B&O store in White .... first time I got to see them in other than black and they're absolutely stunning .
    Also love the pictures of the personalized ones ... would look great in the right interior. 

  • 01-26-2012 3:19 AM In reply to

    • Step1
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    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    leogenghis:

    I don't agree that the Lab 9's will "age" faster than the 5's. I might be in the minority here but the 9's were love at first sight, while the 5's looked good only after I learnt the technical prowess behind them, and I still can't get used to the 3's. The thing is that the 9's are a very flowing and unified shape, while the 3's and 5's have various appendages - the ALT tweeter on top of the 3's looking especially unattractive. Simpler, balanced designs usually have longer staying power.

    The white Lab 9's in the newest Beo magazine are absolutely breathtaking.

    Leo

    Agree with this :)

    Olly.

  • 01-26-2012 10:16 AM In reply to

    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    As one of the creators of the Acoustic Lens, I have been surprised that during the nine years since rollout in 2003 the BeoLab 5 has accrued no technological competitors, no imitators, no knockoffs.  

    We (Sausalito Audio) keep studying ways that we might improve on the function and performance of the BeoLab 5 (and, of course, the Acoustic Lens in general), but haven't come up with anything that has proved to be viable in the marketplace.  At the same time, we believe that the BeoLab 5 has solved the speaker/room/listener interaction problems better than anything else in production to date.  

    From a "design" (styling) standpoint, the BeoLab 5 is very much a "form follows function" device, and David Lewis really got the function (and therefore form) right once he figured out the need for lots of bass.  I have trouble imagining a styling update that would either improve the performance or even maintain it.  So, as you can probably tell, I'm very proud of the BeoLab 5 and don't think there is yet an upgrade that needs to be made.  

    I'm so spoiled by my BL5s that I simply forget how good they are until I sit in somebody else's living room or home theatre and wonder why the sound is so awful.  There's also a sort of "glazed eyes" look of awe I see in guests after they watch a film or listen to a nice surround CD.  There's a lot of "I had no idea that music could sound like this  .  .  ."  

    At the same time, I've sort of "reinvented" stereo in a way that sounds considerably better to me, so now I have trouble even listening to the pair of BeoLab 3s I have installed as so-called "nearfield" monitors in the studio!  It's a nice problem to have.  

    Thanks for listening!

    Best regards,

    Dave Sausalito Audio LLC
  • 01-26-2012 10:32 AM In reply to

    • mbee
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    Re: BeoLab 5 - design up to date?

    Dave Moulton:
    As one of the creators of the Acoustic Lens, I have been surprised that during the nine years since rollout in 2003 the BeoLab 5 has accrued no technological competitors, no imitators, no knockoffs.  

    The only "contemporary" beolab imitation I've seen to date is the brand new Meridian M6 active speaker, unveiled at this year's CES, which looks like a BL9 without ALT :
    http://www.meridian-audio.com/the-collection/loudspeakers/m6-digital-active-loudspeaker-.aspx

    But I can't understand how this speaker could sound "right" with only a bass and a large-band speaker (no tweeter!). Maybe for the "more bass and nothing else" generation.

     

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